It's the most recession-free business. A full-time, no-stress job, just like food,” for DJ Krash, as cliched as it sounds, music is the food for soul. And it comes with some ‘soul stirring’ perks like travel and being your own boss. Probably, in their heart of hearts, Rishi Rich and Juggy D too have similar reasons for joining the field, “now a profession, please,” Rishi corrects us, there is a huge potential after all! “Especially in India, in fact, I’m shifting base for six months here,” jumps in Juggy D. In case you are wondering what are we writing, here’s a brief, it was a chance meet. A tip-off and dash later, we were face-to-face with the three most sought- after British Asian musicians - Rishi Rich, DJ Krash and Juggy D, in town for a private performance. Remember Kya Kool Hai Hum’s ‘It was one night’ track, Hum Tum’s ‘Dil Vich hum tum’, ‘Sohniye’, ‘Billo’….well, if you do then these guys - writers, singers, composers, are guilty as charged. “We’ve grown up on Hindi music, and it’s a great thing to be able to establish yourself in your own country,” says Rishi, now ten years into the business. “You know, our parents never let us talk in English at home. They never let us forget our culture, our virsa, and so when we come here, we don’t feel like foreigners,” Juggy’s now building a kothi in his pind in Ludhiana, Lakkha. “The famous Madiana Gurdwara is next to my pind,” he says with pride. While he’s busy working on Shilpa Shetty’s film and his album which releases next year, Rishi counts projects including Kambakht Ishq with Anu Malik, Toonpur Ka Superhero and a remix album, Bollywood Breaks. “These are remixes of old Hindi numbers,” he explains. For Rishi, Juggy and Krash, remixing doesn’t translate necessarily translate into speeding a track or adding dhol to it. “It’s creating a fresh tune out of a sample or beat. It’s injecting fresh vocals, effects into it and making it your own original,” says Krash, who got his name after crashing five cars! “It’s Vishal otherwise,” he winks, a classically trained musician and percussionist who gave up his IT job for his passion “music, and now I’m mentoring kids on it!” Some sound advice! “Sound is something that evolves every month in our industry, and I can say with confidence that it’s the British-Asian artists who experiment the maximum with it,” defends Rishi. So when it comes to his style, it’s urban, commercial, neither too desi nor too western. “It’s pop, and you can check it out on this new artist I’m producing, H Dhami, he’s going to be a sensation,” while Rishi’s kept himself in the loop by value-adding, progressing and evolving musically, Juggy sticks to change, keeps everyone guessing. “Keeps me on my toes,” he looks toned down and his hair has grown into peroxide blonde coloured strands. Right from a shoot in Noida, production work on Taj - E’s album and picking new instruments - the dhol unleashes aggression, Jagwinder Singh Dhaliwal aka Juggy D calls himself ‘Punjabi Rockstar’. “That’s my next album too. And now that I have a tattoo with the initials of my dad and mum, G and S, which is also Guru Gobind Singh, I feel like a rockstar,” he smiles. Another thing that’s kept him busy is his social networking and entertainment website, asianaffair.com “It’s youtube, facebook and myspace all in one,” he of course, wants us to log on. Back to the business of music, Rishi, on a serious note, feels that Anu Malik is right. “We are missing melody, and I, personally, make an effort to have meaningful lyrics and melodious tracks,” he says. “Has to be out-of-the-box,” agrees DJ Krash aka Vishal, who feels that whatever you do reflects on you as a person. “So if someone comes to me saying I want to sing to be famous or be surrounded by girls, it’s not their game,” they say. No wonder Rishi and Krash are happy behind the scenes. “It’s the acknowledgement, not stardom,” says Rishi. Commercially, they are a success, top of the charts is serious stuff, but the British Asian tag is difficult to snip. “We’ve made our mark internationally.” You betcha!
